


Seismic

by ghostsessions



Category: Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal Series - J.M. Lee, The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (TV)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Dadmal AU but not really, Death, Drug Use, Hallucinations, Hallucinogens, Hunter Rian, Intrusive Thoughts, Sith Rian, also....., he's fucked up, lol, this story is so fucked up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-24
Updated: 2020-11-24
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:53:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27699923
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghostsessions/pseuds/ghostsessions
Summary: It's been unum after Rian fled the Castle of the Crystal, but he's been caught and doesn't think he'll ever go back --- and maybe it was for the better. After all, what good is the hunter to the hunted ?
Kudos: 9





	Seismic

**Author's Note:**

> hi. yes. i'ts me, i'm back and better than ever, still pissed with ao3 but i needed somewhere to post these chapters.
> 
> ANYWAY, welcome to this hell ! seismic is a three part chapter - series, with short stories thrown in, that follows my rian, who becomes hunter rian, after being convinced to join skekMal, believing that he would be better off without his kin and not the other way around. THIS IS NOT AN AU ! this is very much present in my portrayal of him !

> _There is but one rule :_ **_hunt, or be hunted._ **

* * *

No one had seen Rian since they left Stone - in - the - Wood. There was no further call - out when he had disappeared down the river, _as wide as it was angry,_ until he vanished out of sight. There were no signs, no feeling of dread that rested in the pit of the heart and made even the calmest of sleepers **_restless with fear_**. There was nothing --- and not even the birds could tell of his whereabouts : but, the Dark Wood had its _secrets,_ **_and it kept them well._** At the center of its heart --- a sound echoes off of every surface and makes the runners duck for safety, the Thrushpogs curling back into their gnarled - hideaways. A beat of silence, and what had once been a mournful bellow, turns into something far more _feral,_ a horner caught in a snare with its leg half chewed - off.

Anyone with a right mind would have steered clear of the noise altogether, opting to ignore it, to assume it as another one of the Dark Wood’s mysteries that was **_better left alone_ ** \--- and though a Spriton’s eyes were hardly one to _wander,_ this pair did. Off between the trees, behind the tangled vines and gnarled branches thick with foliage, and a thought heavy on the mind --- _what do you keep out of sight ?_

In the safety of a curled branch, hidden away from a clear _den,_ a figure can be seen thrashing, hung upside - down. The blur of colors against the darkness makes it hard for the gaze to adjust at first, but a clear hue of black and indigo tells all --- **_Rian._ ** Not dead . . . _or about to be._ All bared teeth and wild - eyes. A frightened animal surely to become _prey._ His body swings away when a much larger figure comes into view, one that would make anyone cower at the sight : _all grins and hushed - whispers,_ **_the Chamberlain._ ** His head cants towards Rian, who shouts something that’s quickly drowned out by a taloned - hand gripping his face, claws sharp enough to leave a _scar._

“ ** _Let go of me !”_ ** Rian’s usual hardened - voice rising to a level of urgency never heard but **_once,_ ** mocking laughter following.

“ _Calm, calm, Rian. Chamberlain will not hurt. Chamberlain just needs you_ **_calm._** ” a muffled protest, a ridden out whimper as skekSil produces a copious amount of Moonberry --- and administers a high dosage to the soldier, pinching Rian’s nose to ensure he’d swallow.

Rian does, _then goes deathly - still._

_All around, Thra seems to ache as another mind is added to its own, its faint singing joined by one more broken --- one more_ **_wrong. A jumble of sounds, words and voices that make even the tower - trees shake._ ** Just as those lost : **_Rian is before, behind, beyond._ **

He is _here_ \--- **_but he is not._ **

Bated breath, _waiting for the Stonewood to snap out,_ to lash and break the bonds that hold him --- **_nothing._ ** Not even a sound. _Thra cries ---_ **_go back_ ** _\--- and he does._ At Rian’s side, the Chamberlain’s hands fish for something twice removed --- a _vial_ \--- and when he finds it, only then does Rian snarl, jaws snapping.

“Give her _back_ **_!_** ” a command, _not a plea_ : but it’s too late. _He returns to Thra, diving deeper, becoming one with the tremorous - beat._

Beneath the Chamberlain’s robes, Mira is hidden. **_Out of sight, out of mind_** \--- but, beyond the hanging skulls and bones, another approaches, rushing with blades at the ready, _as if to attack._

“Shut the Gelfling up ; lest I take his lying tongue, **then** **_yours !_ **”

_The storm arrives_ , a haze that makes the heart race --- **_every bone in the body saying --- RUN. GET OUT WHILE YOU STILL CAN._** _The Hunter_ , with eyes that pierce, a snarl made of porcelain - bone : **_a face without a face._** A story, _nothing but a Childlings myth._ He was real --- **_and he was horror._** _Uncontainable_ ** _._** **Unstoppable** ** _._**

**_Invincible._ **

The Chamberlain yelps, a sound that makes the birds go flying from the canopy, and bows his head as skekMal enters, iron - grip around Rian’s neck not once letting up.

“Yes --- _yes !_ Chamberlain made Gelfling relax, see ? Gelfling will not be _bothersome_ for Hunter and I.”

There’s another beat of silence --- _fear ?_ **_Anticipation ?_ ** \--- and skekMal lowers his weapons, but not his guard, eyes like slits as he lets skekSil talk. A Skeksis of few words, but of terrifying precision --- _the Hunter was not one to be kept_ **_waiting._ **

“Go on then, before I grow **_bored._** ”

_What to do with the soldier. Whether to keep him alive or leave him to his own devices --- to let the Hunter have his say, or let the Dark Wood Claim him._ _That ---_ ** _surely, the boy’s father would come soon_** _\---_ ** _and if he so wished, the Hunter would have all the chance to kill him now that the opportunity would arise once more._**

An annoyed huff from the Hunter, Rian’s hair standing on end as skekSil hums, glancing from skekMal, to Rian, then back again, wearing a grin so sharp it _cuts._

“Be patient, Hunter. All good things to those who **_wait, yes ?_ ** _Hunter will get what is owed._ **_Hunter will get his trophy and more._** ”

The words are enough to make anyone’s blood run cold --- and the way skekMal flicks his tail in _approval_ tells all. It’s a sign of _yes, you would be correct._ **_I will get what is mine, and I will not be denied it._ **

**_Not again._ **

Shuffling is heard, a quiet protest as the Chamberlain gives yet another Moonberry, then moves around Rian to cut him loose --- just to _stop_ when a sound is heard from between the weaving - branches. Everything **_freezes_ ** \--- one beat, _two_ \--- and a whirlwind of gold and black comes barreling through.

A hard to miss figure --- the **_fight of the Resistance that would be coming_ ** : _Ordon._ Hard - eyes and set - jaw. Unwavering.

**_Immovable object meets unstoppable force._ **

“ _Father_ **_and_ ** _son,_ ” a tell on the end of the Hunter’s words, his eyes like flame against the night. Stoke the fire : **_get burned._ **

“ ** _This ought to be interesting._** ”

Rian is crowded --- _suffocating_ \--- beneath the weight of the Skeksis that surround him. The sharp - edge of the Hunter’s blade against his neck, the Chamberlain’s claws digging into his skin. His mouth opens to call out to his father, but he’s quickly shut up as another Moonberry is given, his head falling back as he goes **_limp_ ** . _Thra cries, trembling as the fear beneath the truth comes to light and reveals what was hoped to_ **_not be_ ** _:_ **_bloodthirst turns into bloodshed, a Son’s words lost at the edge of a blade held by his own father._ **

_So this is how it would end._ **_By Gelfling hand . . . or else by none_**.

_Rian is here, but he is not._ **_Rian is ---_ ** ****

* * *

> _In a time where he was not affected, where he was_ **_unknowing_** _. A youngling held in his Maudra’s arms, much too small to wear the armor his father sported on the day of her Coronation. Armor handed down with pride, a spearhead given as a_ **_gift_ ** _when he was old enough to carry one --- to wield and to_ **_protect_ ** _\--- as steadfast and strong as those before him._

* * *

_I want to go back,_ but Thra does not let go of him.

**_Not yet._ **

* * *

Back where the Dark Wood stretched on --- three voices, laced with venom that burns against the bark, rise loud enough to shake the Claw Mountains. Birds caw as they flee --- _not wanting to get caught in the storm that was forming._

“ ** _Let him go, otherwise I’ll run you through as easily as I’ve done the Arathim !_ **”

“ _Captain --- Chamberlain and Hunter will not hurt son, no --- we seek to_ **_help_** _, yes ! Only want to_ **_help Gelfling._** ” a lie as proud as the last, almost enough to carve a Dream - Etch from where prodding eyes looked on, _unknown_.

Ordon is unconvinced, sword still held at the ready --- **_and charges_**.

Rian shouting out **_don’t you touch me !_** is the only thing that stops him dead. He stumbles back when Rian swings into him, shoulder connecting into his father’s plated - chest, momentarily winded at the unforeseen strength.

“ _Rian ---_ ”

“ ** _I know what you’re planning !_ ** _You’re going to kill me._ ”

Behind the soldier, the Skeksis retreat, all knowing - looks and snapping beaks. _Knowing what was to come :_ **_knowing what would become._ **

“What in Aughra’s name has **_gotten into you_ ** \---”

“Don’t play **_stupid_ ** with me, father --- I know you’ve wanted to ever since Maudra Fara tasked you with hunting me down the night word got out that I fled the castle --- **_after word spread that I was a traitor._ **”

Ordon’s at a loss for words, seen in the way he, temporarily, lowers his blade and swallows --- **_hard._ **

“You’re not thinking straight. I would never plan to harm you, you’re my ---”

A single word, and the blood runs _cold._

“ ** _Son ?_ ** ” Rian’s voice as hard as his father’s eyes : staring at, _staring through._

Whoever flinches first **_loses_ **.

“ ** _That’s no excuse._** ”

The figures behind Rian slowly pull back into the light, right where the shine of the Sisters creates a beam --- one wrong look and everything _scatters._ Wild grins, words locked in a whisper : _coercion,_ **_and Ordon was not the one winning._ **

“ _Yes_ , Rian --- own father wants to _kill you. Kill son who he believes broke_ ** _oath_** _, son who he believes_ ** _lied,_** ” one snap, two : _bone, or beak ?_ “How **_very sad._** Skeksis keep you safe --- Skeksis keep you out of _harm's way, no ? Away from father,_ ** _away from kin who would do same._** After all, son ran _with tail between legs ---_ ** _right. Back. To. Skeksis._** ”

The mind : _fogged,_ **_unbelieving._ ** _Even as he sees the Chamberlain and Hunter making a quick approach, until they stand at either of Rian’s sides._ **_Even as Rian stared on, unaffected. Unfazed._ **As cold as the statue of a man his father wanted him to be.

_You were not made for anything beyond the_ **_fight._ **

**_You are a lot of things . . . but my son is not one._ **

Words unsaid, words that were not _true_ : still, the gap between is bridged, deftly dodging as Rian swings out of reach, all **_bite, all bark,_ ** just to be caught by the hood in skekMal’s grasp. His eyes deceive him, thinking the Hunter to be _grinning_ \--- **_and maybe he was_ ** \--- but beneath the mask remains an unchanged void : _full of wrath._ **_Unbridled fury._ **

One wrong move and the tempest would only _break._

The same blade that had pricked his jugular earlier now extends outward, slow enough for Rian to catch the reflection of his reflection in the glint of the metal. _Wild - eyes, a person he could not learn to_ **_recognize._ ** **A monster** \--- living up to the title. Between the two, skekMal glances, his gaze finally resting upon Ordon who _flinches_ under the pressure of his words, “ _If I cannot have one --- I_ **_will take the other,_** ” and _lunges_.

The squirmish before both the Chamberlain and the weathered soldier is one that only few would get the pleasure of seeing unfold : shrieks and shouts, growling from the pit of the belly that would drown into something far more _sinister._ Laughter --- as **_loud as it was cruel_** \--- when the fight is all said and done . . . and still, no word from Rian. Clouded - eyes and drawn - brow, _slipping between here and a space only seen in dreams._

Ordon had lost : **_and he never did._ **

“Rian ---” his voice rough, _fading,_ the curve of a blade at his back.

“ _Be brave._ **_It’s alright._** ”

_And the blade runs through_.

By the time a grieving gaze witnesses Rian stir once more, Ordon’s body has been long - forgotten, hitting the ground with a sickening _thud_ . Darkness envelops it as the Hunter steps over, **_as if to check for signs of life_ **, then continues forward. A clawed - finger is jabbed into Rian’s chest, but all the soldier does is groan out, swaying back with the force of it.

_Here, but not_ **_fully._ **

“Where is the **_heart_ ** I had planned on taking ?”

The Chamberlain exchanges a glance from the Hunter --- to the Stonewood warrior still in his grip --- then back. **_How odd,_ ** it’s mused, jostling Rian who finally barks out as he comes to, lips pressed into a tired line. **_He doesn’t care._ ** No one speaks, and for a moment . . . _nothing breathes._ All open - ended questions even the Dark Wood couldn’t answer. Eventually, skekSil hums in **_approval,_ ** clapping Rian on the back which makes the soldier cough out, craning his neck to look up at the Skeksis Lord.

“ _You made right choice, Rian. Chamberlain_ **_proud of you_ ** for doing what no other could have dared,” black and white with _blame_ , with hate --- **_with lies,_ ** “Surely had Skeksis not been here, father would have run Rian through, yes ? Same way Hunter’s blade just did --- _surely,_ had Skeksis not been here --- Rian would have been killed. Not just by father --- **_but by other Gelfling, too, hmm ?_ **”

Rian is hardly Rian --- _Rian is elsewhere_ , outside of his body, then crashing back in. Fitting limbs to bone, bone to body, body to soul, **soul to Thra**. But Thra does not call out as it had before --- _Thra is silent._

**_Even it could not save him from his own undoing._ **

“Rian not only saved _own skin, Rian also saved Crystal._ Perhaps Rian would make nice **_addition next to Hunter, yes ?_ **”

Something catches --- a _breath, a hitching sound of disbelief_ . . . and it sparks the attention of the Hunter. Through the branches and heavy - leaves, he swears he can make out something _familiar._ **The scent of loss and love.** **_A deep - rooted fear even Mother Aughra could not displace._ ** Something still around that he had not managed to kill the _first time._ One flick of his tail, two --- a quiet call, one that makes the spine rattle : _I know you’re there, Song - Teller._ **_Your time will come soon._ **

And as quickly as he had seen it, _it’s gone . . ._ **_but not forgotten._ **

The Hunter turns back, crooked - beaked grin and gnashing teeth, “ _Yes,_ this Gelfling will be **_perfect._** ”

Rian’s eyes cloud over again, Thra threatening to take his body back in, but he _refuses._ **_Enough games,_** he’d nearly spit, but the words do not find him fast enough. **_Tell me what you want._** _Four words :_ “ ** _What do you mean ?_** ”

And as quickly as he had been caught, the motion to free him is swift. The Chamberlain catches him before he hits the ground the _same way his father had earlier,_ and sets him upright, giving the Stonewood enough time to catch his balance. By the time his head stops spinning, the binds around his wrists are gone, and Rian swears the glance the Chamberlain exchanges with him means _trouble_ \--- **_he just can’t place what kind._ ** Trine of living under _their_ protection --- unum spent hiding, **_fleeing,_ ** then dragged back in, kicking and screaming. Bared - teeth washed in _red._ Someone speaks, but all he hears is the **General** \--- or was it _Mira_ ?

**_Or maybe his father ?_ **

“Rian could _help_ Hunter, you see ? Rian pay back **_debt_ ** for Hunter keeping him _safe,_ ” the words instill an anxiety he knows _well,_ but ignores, listening on even as the darkness creeps away in **_terror._ **

“Get other Gelfling for **_Skeksis friend,_ ** and stay _quiet, hmm ?_ Rian **_owes_ ** Skeksis --- **_Rian owes Hunter._** ”

The statement leaves a _sour_ taste in the soldier’s mouth when they’re heard. Makes his face twist, his lips curving down into a deep frown, ears flat against his head. There was no way he could --- **_kill ? Kill those who sought to do the same to him ? They had tried to imprison him, tried to make a fool of him. Wanted so badly to see the prey die that they didn’t see the hunt become the hunter._ **

What happens next _stings,_ hurts worse than any injury ever sustained --- **_the Resistance would suffer because of it_ **.

“ _Right._ Of course, my **_lord,_ ** ” a nod to follow, amber eyes scanning the Skeksis before him, “I _do_ owe the Hunter for saving me from death at the hands of my own father. It’s the least I could do as repayment.”

_Whatever you ask of me . . ._ **_I will not let you down_**.

The response makes _both_ the Chamberlain and Hunter hum in approval, a hand waving in dismissal : but, before he takes his leave and the Hunter ushers Rian into the night . . . passing words that stick --- **another white - lie to add to the list**.

“We are friends, Rian. **We are friends.** ** _Friend will not be disappointed._** ”

* * *

> _A whirlwind of chaos, of blood . . ._ **_so much blood_ ** _. Parents taken by the same storm --- the ghost of the Dark Wood --- and a second was to be added to the mix. A blur of red and indigo, creating a violet - thunderstorm just overhead. When it crashes . . ._ **_everything goes with it._ **
> 
> **_In his eyes, he sees nothing but denial : black and white with blame._ ** _Why did he not move ? Why did he just watch ? Just as useless as he was the first time around, unable to stop what he saw coming from miles away. The scent lingers, heavy as iron on the tongue :_ **_then vanishes._ **
> 
> _Kylan waits, holds his breath as he watches the grove hide what it had swallowed ---_ **_then runs._ **
> 
> _Another story :_ **Another illusion . . .** **_in the age of loss._ **


End file.
